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Tags: Video Games / Google Maps / Technology / Travel News / → All Tags

Google Map-Based 'Monopoly City Streets' Game Launches Today

Today may be 09/09/09, and the day that a certain hyped video game releases (Beatles Rock Band, more on that later), but there's yet another game out today for which we are extremely excited: Monopoly City Streets, and it's free.

It's being called the "biggest live game of Monopoly in history"—would we be part of a Guinness World Record then?—and it's focused on using Google Maps as the gameboard, with the ability to utilize street view to aid in making location purchase decisions. And just like in the real Monopoly, this worldwide version has you buying streets and building everything from hazards to skyscrapers on them.

But how will it work? We'll defer to PC World to explain this one:

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Tags: Google Maps / Maps / Map Travel / Antipodes / → All Tags

New Site Helps You Dig Your Hole to China

Have you ever wondered where you'd end up if you could somehow dig a hole straight through the earth from where you were standing? Of course you have. Everybody has. Well, now there's a nifty website that can answer that question in seconds. The Antipodes Map couldn't be simpler to use. Pick any location on earth on a Google map and it will automatically generate its antipode, i.e. the land (or ocean) located on the opposite side of the world.

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Tags: Google Maps / Maps / → All Tags

Google Maps Hates Staten Island, Sends Drivers to Schenectady Instead

Wait till the Wu Tang Clan hears about this one. A software glitch on Google Maps is confusing a neighborhood in Staten Island with the upstate town of Schenectady, sending Great Kills-bound drivers on a three-hour, 170-mile odyssey in the wrong direction. As the Daily News points out, the 10308 zip code is coming up in searches as Schenectady, and those looking for directions to the Shaolin hamlet will instead find themselves rolling up the New York State Thruway if they're not paying attention. Staten Island Councilman Councilman Vince Ignizio doesn't think Google is dissing his borough like so many others have before, but he hopes the glitch is fixed nonetheless. After all, Staten Island needs all the visitors it can get.

[Photo: Daily News]

Related Stories:
· Software Glitch Sends Staten Island Google Maps Users on a Major Detour [New York Daily News]
· Google Maps Coverage [Jaunted]

Tags: Where Is / Google Maps / Fashion Travel / Seoul / Architecture Travel / → All Tags

Prada's Tetrahedron 'Transformer' Building?

Remember last year and the press buzz around that traveling capsule of brand vanity created by Zaha Hadid and Karl Lagerfeld for Chanel, called "Mobile Art?" Citing weak financials, the structure was grounded and retired after only making it through half of its worldwide stops, but apparently this has only inflamed rival Prada with more desire to carry out a copycat project.

Currently under construction on the ground of the Gyeonghui Palace in central Seoul, South Korea, is what is being called the Prada "Transformer." A tetrahedron-shaped structure designed by the architect behind their revolutionary Manhattan store, Rem Koolhaas, the temporary building will not be traveling like the Chanel orb, but will instead be firmly grounded in Seoul from March through August. Should the 65-foot tall structure prove popular however, there is rumor that it could be carted to a few more cities badly in need of a luxury goods injection.

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Tags: Where Is / Middle America / Sam Shepard / Bars / Google Maps / → All Tags

Sam Shepard's Bloomington Drinking Den

Pulitzer Prize-winner, actor, writer and director Sam Shepard was picked up by cops early Saturday morning in Normal, Illinois, 133 miles southwest of Chicago and next door to Bloomington, one of the country's most theatrical cities and host of the Illinois Shakespeare Festival.

According to police, Shepard was clocking 46 mph in a 30 mph zone at around 2 am after making a stop at Fat Jacks in Bloomington. (Featuring $2.75 Jack Daniel's drinks every Friday night!) From the sound of this review on Citysearch, though, he should've known that calling a cab would've been a better idea than driving:

This is usually the place all the college kids go. Cops are always lurking within the building and around it, waiting for drunks to make a mistake.

Shortly after last call the bouncers are quick to get people out, even if you are trying to close your tab or as a designated driver they will make you wait outside.

The "Right Stuff" and "Assassination of Jesse James" actor posted bond and was released a few hours after his arrest.

Related Stories:
· Fat Jacks [MySpace]
· Sam Shepard Arrested for DUI [Boston Herald]

Tags: Christmas / Santa Claus / Google Maps / → All Tags

Super World Traveler Santa Impresses Even Us

In a moment of weakness, we were convinced to check out the Norad Santa Tracker. And you know what? Despite our suspicions that it'd be super cheesy, it managed to bring some geographic jolly to our Christmas Eve.

Santa, it seems, really does get everywhere, stopping off at places we know and love, like Sydney, Australia and Kobe, Japan, while also bringing presents to kids in spots we've never even heard of. An extra stocking stuffer goes out to anyone who's heard of Onekotan, Russia before today.

To celebrate Santa's globe wandering, we're taking the rest of the day off and hunkering down with eggnog and presents tomorrow. But we'll be back in full force on Friday to swap holiday horror stories and continue our hats-in-airports obsession. See you then, and merry Christmas!

Related Stories:
· Norad Santa Tracker [Official Site]
· Christmas coverage [Jaunted]

Tags: Google Maps / Snow Days / Skiing / Active Travel / Winter Travel / → All Tags

New York Snowstorms Have Us Waxing Our XC Skis

So much lake effect snow fell on Upstate New York last night that the Thruway Authority completely closed a 134-mile stretch of I-90 for six hours. It's since reopened, and now that the roads are finally plowed, it's time to take advantage of all that snow by strapping on the cross-country skis and setting out in search of tranquil winter bliss.

A PR firm in the region recently sent us a link to a really cool Google Maps mashup that pinpoints dozens of cross-country skiing spots across the Finger Lakes, complete with photos, prices, trail guides, websites and, obviously, directions. We'd embed it here, but it's so full of info that it's better to view it full screen.

Of course, in Upstate New York this time of year, you may not even need a map to find decent cross country skiing: Just get to the nearest park and go from there. Today's forecast for Syracuse? "Snow squalls" bringing as much as a foot of new powder.

Related Stories:
· Cross-country Skiing in the Finger Lakes [Google Maps]
· Thruway Reopens After 134 Miles Shut Down [Democrat and Chronicle]
· Snow Days coverage [Jaunted]

Tags: Maps / Google Maps / TravelSkoot / Peter Greenberg / → All Tags

Peter Greenberg's Got the Skoots for You

"Scoot" is a funny-sounding word. There's Scooter from the Muppet Show (pictured). There are those Razor scooters that kids and dorky adults ride around town. There's that episode of the Simpsons where Marge says "I haven't lost so much sleep since little Barty had the scoots." And now there's a website that provides user-generated, Google-map-based travel itineraries called TravelSkoot. Map-based itineraries are nothing new - Jaunted is no slouch in the map department, and a certain blogger has churned out a few in his day - but the twist here is that they're user-generated, and many of them have an entertainment and pop-culture focus. There are itineraries that kind of make you want to vomit a little bit, like the Real Housewives NYC itinerary, but there are also a few that are truly inspired, such as the Ferris Bueller's Day Off tour of Chicago. And to give it even more of a celebrity angle (if travel writers can ever be considered celebrities), NBC Today Show Travel Yoda Peter Greenberg has contributed a few Skoots of his own, using categories like "Off the Brochure," "One-Tank Trips," and "America the Beautiful." There's really no limit to the angles you could choose for your own itineraries - the Don Ho Tour of Hawaii, anyone? - so grab a muffin and start skooting.

Related Stories:
· TravelSkoot [Official Site]
· Peter Greenberg Worldwide [Official Site]
· Map Coverage [Jaunted]

Tags: Google Maps / Pirates / Pirate Travel / Dangerous Travel / → All Tags

Keeping Up With The Pirates

If you're like us, you've been having a hell of a time lately keeping up with the rampant piracy off the coast of Somalia. Which supertanker did those guys nab? Whose navy frigate did bandits open fire on? What shipping lanes do we absolutely not want our cruise ship crossing?

Luckily the International Chamber of Commerce, a non-profit based in the UK, has put together a Live Piracy Map, which tracks the latest hijackings, abductions and assaults on the high seas. Predictably, the Gulf of Aden is awash in red Google Maps "pins," solidifying its spot as the world's most pirate-y body of water.

But despite the recent media obsession with the Horn of Africa, you're not necessarily safe elsewhere. The Straight of Malacca, between Malaysia and Indonesia, is still a hot spot, and the coast of Nigeria has its share of danger too. Look alive when sailing your yacht out of Lagos, sophistonauts!

Related Stories:
· Live Piracy Map [ICC]
· Somali Bandits Strike Yet Again [Jaunted]
· Somali Bandits Still Sailing Weapons-Filled Tanker [Jaunted]

Tags: Celebrity Bankruptcy / Michael Jackson / Neverland Ranch / Google Maps / → All Tags

What Will Become Of Neverland Ranch?

Michael Jackson has finally given up his Neverland Ranch, sending Jay Leno's writers into a panic and leaving us to wonder what's next for the 2,500-acre property in Santa Barbara's wine country.

While Jackson will technically still own a share of the property, it's now controlled by Colony Capital, a real estate firm that owns the Las Vegas Hilton and is developing Meadowlands Xanadu in New Jersey. They'll need to put some work in on Neverland, where carnival-style rides, a Ferris wheel and even a roller coaster have fallen into disrepair.

But will the destination remain kid-friendly? Colony is staying mum on the future of the Los Olivos sanctuary, though we could see it turned into a winery or a destination spa or basically anything except a Michael Jackson museum.

Drop your ideas for the future of Neverland in the comments.

Related Stories:
· Michael Jackson Gives Neverland to Corporation [AP, via Google]
· Rumored Music Travel: Jackson 5 to Reunite [Jaunted]

Tags: Google Maps / Street View / Privacy / Europe Travel / → All Tags

Street View Now Available in France, Italy, Spain

The camera-laden vehicles of Google have been tooling around Europe lately, and the company has posted piles of new Street View imagery this week, with cities in Spain and Italy now available. (Shots of France went live earlier this month.)

In Spain, Barcelona, Madrid, Seville and Valencia are all street viewable now. We particularly like the views of the Sagrada Famiglia in Barcelona and the City of Arts and Sciences in Valencia.

In Italy, Rome, Florence and Milan are the first to have on-the-street photos available, meaning you can check out stuff like the Colosseum and Milan's epic Piazza del Duomo. Sadly, Google doesn't appear to have any boat-mounted cameras: We're still waiting for "Street" View in Venice.

Related Stories:
· Un Paseo por España [Lat Long Blog]
· La Dolce Vista [Lat Long Blog]

Tags: Where Are / Google Maps / King Solomon's Mines / World Heritage Sites / UNESCO / → All Tags

King Solomon's Mines

Researchers in Jordan think they've uncovered the location of King Solomon's Mines, a copper-rich region that's inspired multiple films, including one starring Patrick Swayze and another featuring Sharon Stone and John Rhys-Davies.

The area, south of the Dead Sea in Jordan's Faynan district, is known in Arabic as Khirbat en-Nahas and includes roughly 100 ancient buildings. Artifacts recovered from the area as well as carbon dating helped researchers determine that the mines were used in the 10th century BC--and could prove the historical existence of King Solomon.

Lead researcher Thomas Levy says:

We can't believe everything ancient writings tell us. But this research represents a confluence between the archaeological and scientific data and the Bible.

Levy is now working with the government of Jordan to have the area declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site, a status the nearby ancient village of Petra already enjoys.

Related Stories:
· Copper Ruins in Jordan Bolster Biblical Record [LAT]
· King Solomon's (Copper) Mines? [UCSD]
· High-Precision Radiocarbon Dating and Biblical Archaeology [PNAS, warning science content!]
· World Heritage Sites in Jordan [Official Site]